Besides, even the abject display the two of them had put on earlier had failed to draw his attention. He must have been laughing at their groveling posture, like ants crawling on the ground!
"Damn it, damn it! All of you deserve to die!"
Still acting so high and mighty at a time like this? Did he really think he was some great powerhouse?
"Since I can't escape, don't think you can stay out of this either!"
The endless fury coiled in his heart finally found an outlet, even lessening his fear of the deadly danger behind him.
The blood essence within him burned madly, and Yin Tianzong's hair, hanging loose on either side of his head, rapidly turned white.
In exchange, his aura surged once more. The protective barrier around his body nearly solidified, while savage bloodlust filled his eyes.
Yin Tianzong's figure flickered constantly between the interlacing tentacles as he raced toward Shi Qingyun.
Shi Qingyun paid no heed to what the two were thinking. Even if he had known, he would only have found it laughable and pathetic.
Much less would he argue with them, because dead men had no need to know so much.
Seeing Yin Tianzong's frenzied appearance, Shi Qingyun merely thought with contempt, The weak draw their blades against those weaker still!
Gathering his thoughts, Shi Qingyun closed his eyes. As though sensing his summons, the pitch-black cave heaven behind him slowly detached itself and drifted gently before him.
Shi Qingyun drew his left hand slightly inward. Black divine power instantly surged out of his body, and obscure runes slowly emerged over his left hand.
Shi Qingyun tapped repeatedly at the black cave heaven before him with his right hand. A stream of black divine power flowed from his fingertips into it like black water, and the runes branded upon the cave heaven glimmered a moment later.
Shi Qingyun immediately slammed the Dao patterns condensed over his left hand into the cave heaven before him. They swiftly wound around the black cave heaven.
The next moment, the pitch-black cave heaven drifted forward. Yin Tianzong and his companion were rapidly approaching that spot, with the great beast charging fiercely behind them. In midair, the cave heaven transformed into a ring composed of runes.
The ring was pitch-black throughout, as though it could devour anything. Even the intense sunlight falling directly upon it seemed to be swallowed, while wisps of cold, annihilating energy coiled around it.
In an instant, the ring sank into the spot Shi Qingyun had indicated. A moment later, divine chains of runes extended from the ring embedded in the ground.
The chains linked and interwove, and an enormous Dao diagram instantly spread beneath Yin Tianzong and the others.
The diagram covered precisely the area enclosed by the ring, and Yin Tianzong and the others happened to be inside it.
Following the lines of the Dao diagram, the surface soil rose slightly, matching the diagram formed by the runes. This allowed Yin Tianzong and his companion to see the strange formation beneath them.
The formation that had appeared beneath their feet startled both men; neither had expected Shi Qingyun to produce such a display.
Both believed Shi Qingyun had unleashed some formidable precious technique and prepared to defend themselves, but after waiting a moment, they found that nothing had happened.
As for the Nine-Handed Yin Beast behind them, it paid Shi Qingyun no attention whatsoever. At that moment, its only thought was to kill Yin Tianzong and his companion, and it pursued them madly.
The two men thought Shi Qingyun was merely putting on a mysterious act, but before they could voice their mockery-
A moment later, wisps of frosty energy rapidly crept over their bodies. Cold poured out in a frenzy, encasing them in ice at an astonishing speed.
The miasma lingering in the air instantly turned into flakes of black ice upon touching that cold energy, falling to the ground one by one.
Their smiles froze upon their faces, as lifelike as sculptures carved from ice.
Even the great beast behind them was frozen by the black frost, all its tentacles still poised in midair, clawing and flailing.
"Extreme cold! No life! Annihilate!"
Looking at the sight before him, as though he had entered a world of black crystals, Shi Qingyun could not help uttering those words.
Yin Tianzong, his companion, and the Nine-Handed Yin Beast behind them were all encased in ice. Even the Nine-Handed Yin Beast, which had mutated under the Death Swamp's chilling energy, could not withstand Shi Qingyun's yin energy.
Shi Qingyun gazed at everything before him, neither sorrow nor joy in his eyes, and casually swept his sleeve.
The next moment, both men and the great beast crumbled into dust, dispersing between heaven and earth. Even the white bones scattered away with them.
Chapter 36: Only Upon Attaining the Dao Can One Speak of It
Shi Qingyun waved toward the ground shrouded in black energy. A moment later, the faintly flickering ring of runes detached itself from the earth and flew toward him.
While flying through the air, the ring broke into individual runes, which swiftly drifted behind Shi Qingyun like a flowing ribbon.
In the next instant, those runes linked and intertwined once more, becoming the same pitch-black cave heaven with its metallic sheen, suspended behind Shi Qingyun.
Two cave heavens, one black and one white, floated behind Shi Qingyun, their light blazing as they flickered and contracted.
The yin and yang cave heavens were communicating with the greater world outside, drawing in the essence drifting between heaven and earth with each flicker.
Before long, they had replenished everything Shi Qingyun had just expended.
Shi Qingyun took a step. Yin and yang energy flashed, and in the next instant, he appeared where Yin Tianzong and the others had dispersed.
Shi Qingyun descended swiftly through the air and soon landed on the ground, stirring a wave of air that swept outward in every direction.
As he stood upon the ground, a chill that pierced straight into the marrow slowly passed into the soles of his feet.
The chilling death energy hidden beneath the surface seemed to resonate with the pure yin energy Shi Qingyun had created here.
Not only had the yin energy he released failed to dissipate, it had also formed a special resonance with this place-something Shi Qingyun had not anticipated.
Thin black threads crawled upward along Shi Qingyun's feet, but the moment they touched his body, they merged into him.
"Is this what their resonance produced?"
Shi Qingyun watched the black threads continually climbing upward. As they merged into his body, they slightly increased the divine power within him.
Although the increase was negligible, perhaps this place would become a treasure land after hundreds or thousands of years, though it would only benefit cultivators of cold yin attributes.
Shi Qingyun suddenly found it amusing. He was still only a minor cultivator, yet he was thinking about what would happen centuries or millennia from now. Shaking his head, he stopped dwelling on it.
Yet in that brief moment of distraction, the black threads seemed like rootless duckweed that had found a place to settle, crawling frantically onto Shi Qingyun.
Shi Qingyun ignored them and strode forward. They were no longer of much use to him; otherwise, he would not have minded absorbing them all.
After Shi Qingyun left, the mixture of chilling energy and death energy rising from the ground became ribbons fluttering in the wind, streaming toward him.
"Was that move really so powerful? It didn't leave a single thing behind. I was careless."
Shi Qingyun spoke with some chagrin. He had been so focused on unleashing his newly created move that he had never imagined it would be this powerful.
It had reduced everything to fine dust, leaving nothing whatsoever for Shi Qingyun.
After a brief bout of regret, he put it out of his mind. Those things had never belonged to him anyway; matters had simply returned to how they were before. If they were gone, then so be it.
Having gained nothing, Shi Qingyun could only console himself this way.
"But the rune-based precious techniques branded onto these yin and yang cave heavens really are powerful!"
He had only unleashed the rune-based precious technique upon the lunar cave heaven, yet it had obliterated two opponents who were also in the Cave Heaven Realm, along with another foe on the verge of entering the Spirit Transformation Realm.
Shi Qingyun was thoroughly satisfied with its power. He had gained another trump card, one that could save his life at a critical moment.
Moreover, Shi Qingyun glanced around at the frozen swamp and the black ribbons rising from underground to drift in the wind.
With the Death Swamp already harboring little life, the place now brimmed with an eerie sense of horror.
Have I accidentally created another forbidden zone for life? Shi Qingyun could not help wondering.
Shi Qingyun shook his head. It probably did not qualify; this was merely a product of the right conditions coming together at the right time and place.
Shi Qingyun's chilling energy had connected with the cold energy and death energy that had existed here for who knew how long, resulting in this sight.
With his current strength, Shi Qingyun could not achieve this on his own. It could only be considered a rather dangerous phenomenon! Yes, the lethal kind.
This attack had also given Shi Qingyun a rough understanding of his overall strength, and he was quite satisfied with it.
Most importantly, the rune-based precious technique branded onto the lunar cave heaven was immensely powerful, as the battle just now had offered a glimpse.
Although Shi Qingyun had scattered their ashes without expending much effort, they had not been weak.
None of them could be counted among the very greatest geniuses, but they were still prodigies of some renown within their clans. Besides, there had also been a mutated ferocious beast.
Moreover, Shi Qingyun had only unleashed the technique in its crudest form. If he comprehended the runes branded upon the lunar cave heaven-
Shi Qingyun would not even need to use the lunar cave heaven as a medium. He could release it with a mere lift of his hand, and both its power and destructive range would rise another level.
If he also used the rune-based precious technique recorded upon the solar cave heaven, wielding lunar power in his left hand and solar power in his right, his strength would surely soar.
If he then comprehended the Yin-Yang Fusion Technique, who knew how formidable this precious technique would become?
But the Yin-Yang Fusion Technique would have to wait. As he was now, he could not withstand the power of the chaos qi produced when yin and yang collided.
Thinking back to when his body had transformed into a Dao Body, that tiny amount of chaos qi had nearly dispersed his consciousness. Even now, recalling it made Shi Qingyun's head ache a little.
Although chaos qi greatly benefited both the body and the soul, Shi Qingyun did not yet want to undergo its tempering-at least not today!
Thinking of the tremendous potential of the rune-based precious techniques branded upon his cave heavens filled Shi Qingyun with delight. Next, he would have to properly study the precious techniques his Dao Body had brought him.
This was not merely to gain stronger means of protecting his path. Comprehending the precious techniques would also deepen his understanding of the Dao of yin and yang, which was vital to his future cultivation.
After all, cultivating the Dao meant precisely that: the Dao was the foundation, while everything else was merely a path or a means to cultivate it. There was no need to practice too many of those.
Since he had stumbled onto the path of yin and yang through a twist of fate, he would follow it through to the end.
He also wanted to know what the Dao of yin and yang would look like when cultivated to its ultimate limit, and to see what that world would be like.
Moreover, as the saying went, no Dao stood higher or lower than another; only upon attaining the Dao could one speak of it. Shi Qingyun did not worry that his chosen Dao was weaker than anyone else's. He had great confidence in himself.
Chapter 37: Leaving
After lingering briefly to reflect, Shi Qingyun immediately gathered his thoughts. He glanced back at the Death Swamp, then left with the strides of a dragon and a tiger.
This could be considered the first place where I established my Dao. Once I leave, my journey will begin.
Comprehending his own Dao, attaining a Dao Body, seeking immortality in a land of death.
Everything was so bizarre, yet so fitting. Shi Qingyun smiled knowingly.
Behind him, only the black ribbons of chilling energy remained, dancing there. As they swayed from side to side, one act in the world drew to a close, and another began.
The scene shifted. Shi Qingyun walked through the dense forest, pondering where to go next, when a certain place suddenly came to mind.
That should count as one of the more dangerous places in the entire secret realm. Still, there's no harm in taking a look. Perhaps I'll gain something there.
Fortunately, the two pairs of blood-red wings marked on the map had been striking enough for him to memorize at a glance, so the location remained in Shi Qingyun's mind.
Otherwise, he would not have known which direction to choose. After all, the beast-hide map had been destroyed along with the other storage treasures.
Besides, after experiencing the wondrous sensation of his cultivation rising rapidly, he now had a keen interest in treasure hunting.
With the attitude of giving the jujube tree a whack whether it bore fruit or not, he felt he ought to take a look. Perhaps he would even encounter other people there.
He also suspected that Shi Yi and those from the Primordial Divine Mountain would all head there. After all, the greatest treasure in the entire secret realm might be hidden in that place.
Before you continue